frog strangler
A hard, dumping rain — comic Southern talk for a real soaker.
Also called frog-strangler, toad strangler, frog choker.
Updated September 21, 2026
frog strangler pronunciation
/FROG STRANG-ler/
Meaning
Means a torrential downpour, the kind that fills ditches and turns the yard into a pond. Nobody is choking frogs. The joke is rain heavy enough to drown what already likes water. Kin to gully washer, toad strangler, and frog choker. Used for sudden cloudbursts more than a soft all-day drizzle.
How folks use it
- “We better get the hay under cover. There's a frog strangler coming.”
- “That frog strangler last night left water standing in the pasture.”
Origin and etymology
Southern U.S. weather hyperbole. Related forms like toad-strangler show up in print by the late 1800s. Frog strangler is attested by 1922 in an Oklahoma paper asking for rain hard enough to fill stock ponds. Dictionary of American Regional English and Wayword Radio group it with other Southern storm nicknames built on what the flood would move or drown. Humor first, forecast second.
Frequently asked questions
Is a frog strangler dangerous?
It means very heavy rain. Flooding can follow, but the phrase itself is colorful talk, not a weather warning label.